SAMTASTIC
by pmbb
Summary: A collection of one-shots centered around Team One's very own Samtastic!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all-it's been a while, huh? I am officially finished with the semester *thank the Lord* and I have about three(?) or so weeks off until I start back at work so I can FINALLY start writing again! Yay!**

 **This is going to be a collection of one-shots, centered around everyone's favorite blonde sniper, mister Sam Braddock.**

 **In some, Sam might be injured and in others, Sam might just be his normal Samtastic, badass self.**

 **Mainly Sam-centric, but the other members of Team One, along with some OC's, will also appear.**

 **Enjoy!**

 *** _Italics_ are thoughts***

* * *

 **The One with the Explosion**

"Sam, status! What's your status?!" Greg yelled into his earpiece. "Come on Sam, talk to me!"

Hearing nothing over the comms, Greg turned to the rest of his team and shared a heartbroken, shell-shocked look.

Around them, firemen and emergency response team members were shouting and several of them rushed into the burning, crumbling building behind them—the same building that Sam had run into moments ago to set up a Sierra perch.

The explosion that followed Sam's entrance into the building was loud, incredibly loud, but the pained scream from their teammate that came over the comms, and immediate silence that followed, was deafening.

At that moment, everything seemed to stop. The hot call Team One had been called out on was completely forgotten and as Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike, Lou, and Jules all watched the newly exploded building start to crumble, they felt their own hearts crumble as well.

The loud, shrill siren of an arriving ambulance brought them all back to the present. The cab doors opened and Steve and his partner both jumped out. Steve ran over to his favorite group of SRU officers while his partner ran around to the back of the ambulance to grab their gear.

"Hey guys, what do we got?" Steve asked before getting a good look at the group of officers that stood in front of him. "Where's Sam?"

Jules, Spike, and Lou looked down, struggling to keep the tears in their eyes from spilling over. Wordy and Ed shifted their eyes away from the paramedic. Greg sighed, making Steve turn his focus onto him. With a flick of the head towards the smoking mass of concrete a couple buildings away, Greg answered Steve's question.

Steve followed Greg's gesture and saw the half-collapsed building behind them. He immediately got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "No...?"

Jules sniffled and finally looked at Steve. "He had just gone in to find a Sierra spot when the explosion happened."

Spike put an arm around Jules' shoulder and gave her a small, comforting squeeze as her voice cracked at the end of her statement. "We haven't heard from him since."

Steve seemed to deflate at the news. "Damn..."

"The fire department got the fire put out quickly and the rescue team is clearing the debris from the entrance as we speak," Ed said, having now pulled himself together and back into team leader mode. "Once the entrance is cleared and they determine its stable enough to enter, we'll go in and look for Sam."

"And if the building isn't stable enough for us to go in?" Wordy asked. He hated playing Devil's advocate, but he felt that someone needed to ask the hard questions.

"We're not leaving Sam in there!" Ed yelled, anger and emotion at the situation evident in his voice. "We have to-"

Ed's statement was cut off by a rustling sound coming from over the comms. Looking at the faces of the other members of Team One, Ed knew that they had heard it as well.

"Surely the rescue team hasn't made it in already?" Lou asked, looking at his boss for confirmation.

Greg shook his head. "No, they're still clearing the debris from the entrance."

"Maybe they found another way in?"

"No, there are no other viable entrances. They are supposed to notify us when they got inside-"

This time, Greg's conversation was cut off. This time, there was something other than rustling; a soft groan could be heard. It was faint, so faint they could barely hear it, but every member of Team One did, and they knew that that groan could only belong to one person: Sam.

"Sam?!" Greg asked, practically pleading.

Greg shared a look of hope with the others. Steve, not having a comm set, had no idea what was going on or what the members of Team One were hearing, but hearing Greg say Sam's name, he found himself feeling the same hope the members of Team One felt.

"Sam, buddy, can you hear me?" Greg tried again, hoping he was successful at concealing the desperation in his voice.

The members of Team One stood silent, hoping and praying that they would hear a response back. Seconds later, they were rewarded when they heard a rough, raspy voice come over the comms.

"S-Sarge?"

Sam's voice, although it sounded horrible and chalked full of pain, was like the heavens opened up and a choir of angels were singing. Sam was alive!

The team had no idea how injured Sam was, but he was alive and for now, that was all that mattered.

"It's good to hear your voice buddy!" Greg said, unable to keep the relief out of his voice and the smile off of his face. "Are you OK? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sam coughed a painful sounding cough several times before groaning loudly. After about a minute, Sam finally answered. "I uh-I hurt everywhere, and my head and ribs are killing me, but as far as I can tell, all of my parts are in one piece."

Sam's cheeky assessment of his injuries put a smile on his teammates' faces.

"Just hang tight, OK Samo?" Ed said, relieved to be able to talk to his friend and teammate. "The rescue team is clearing out the debris and once they're finished, we'll bring the medics in."

"NO!" Sam yelled in a pained, hushed whisper. "No one else comes in here."

Confusion clouded the faces of everyone in the conversation.

"Sam? What's going on?" Wordy asked. He knew how much Sam hated having to receive medical help, but he couldn't help but think that this was extreme, even for Sam.

"Someone else is in here." Sam answered, his voice going out.

...

To say the team was shocked at Sam's announcement was an understatement; the looks on their faces said it all.

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked, confused. When Sam didn't answer immediately, he got concerned. "Sam?"

"I think he passed out again," Spike said, listening to the slow, raspy breathing coming from over the comm.

"Do you really think there's someone else in that building?" Jules asked, looking wide-eyed at the guys. "I mean, the unis said the building had been cleared."

"Someone might have snuck in afterwards," Greg said. He turned to face Spike. "Check surrounding cameras, see if you can find out if anyone entered that building before Sam."

Spike nodded. "I'm on it." He said and immediately pulled out his laptop to check the cameras.

Ed looked at Greg, determination on his face. "I don't care what the rescue squad says. If there is someone else in that building, we go in first and eliminate the threat. Once it's safe, then the medics can come in."

"I got him!" Spike announced from behind his computer.

Greg, Ed, Wordy, Lou, Jules and Steve all gathered around Spike. He played back the video feed from the security camera on the building across the street. Everyone watched as a man carrying two bags quickly entered the building seconds after the unis finished clearing it, completely undetected.

"The guy had two bags," Lou observed. "Does that mean two bombs?"

"Or more," Jules added, somberly.

The looks on the faces of the other members of Team One told Lou all he needed to know; they had reached the same conclusion.

"Damn." Wordy voiced what they were all feeling.

"Uh guys, we gave another problem." Spike said, looking up from the video feed on his computer. "The bomber went into the building but never came out. Sam was right, the guy's still inside the building."

"Son of a bitch," Greg said as he removed his cap and rubbed a hand across his head. _Could things be any worse?_

This shift would be going down in history as one of the longest, most emotional shifts Team One has ever had. Nonstop calls, some bogus, plagued the team since their shift started, but this call topped everything. The only good thing that had happened since they arrived on the scene (other than finding out Sam was alive, that is) was that the attempted bank robbery, the reason for the hot call, had ended quickly with the peaceful release of the hostages once the subjects saw the explosion.

 _Thank God for small mercies,_ Greg thought to himself. He looked around at the controlled chaos; emergency personnel were bustling around, evacuating people from the area and helping those who needed it, the rescue team, with the help of the fire department, were still working to clear the debris in front of the door and the members of his team were all huddled around Spike's laptop at the front of one of the SUVs. Greg sighed. Team One's long day just seemed to keep getting longer.

...

The shifting of rubble brought Sam back to consciousness. He groaned as his body protested at the small movements caused by the rubble moving. Sam was a tad surprised that his team didn't immediately respond to his groan but then he realized he couldn't hear anything from the comms at all.

Slowly and carefully reaching up to touch his ear, Sam was surprised—and a bit relieved—to find that his earpiece was gone. _Huh. Must have fallen out when I passed out._

Being careful not to move too much or too quickly, Sam reached his arm out and began feeling around for his earpiece. Finally finding it, Sam brought it back up to his head and slipped it in his ear. "Guys?"

Sam cracked a small smile at the unanimous, six-person call of "SAM!" he heard over the comm.

"Sam, buddy! How are you holding up?"

"I'm OK, Sarge."

Sam heard the scoffs from over the comms and he could practically feel the disapproving eye rolls his team was surely giving him after his very typical Sam answer. He heard mumbles in the background and soon another familiar voice joined the conversation. Steve.

"Hey Sam, it's Steve. How do you feel? Can you tell me what your injuries are?"

"Steve, I'm OK for now. Really."

Sam heard Ed rage over the comms. "You were just in an explosion, Braddock! You will answer Steve's questions honestly and to a T or I will confine you to truck duty for the foreseeable future. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Sam grumbled with an eye roll. "My chest is really tight—I think a couple of ribs might be broken and, considering that I'm seeing two of everything, I'm pretty sure I have a concussion too. My entire body is sore, but I think those are the only two things that could cause a problem with getting me out of here. Speaking of which, Sarge, what's the status with the rescue team? Have they made it through yet?"

"Not yet buddy. They're still moving debris. The fire department's not sure how stable the building is so they're being extremely careful."

"Copy that Sarge," Sam groaned. That was not the news he wanted to hear, especially as the pain in his head cranked up a few notches.

"Don't worry Samo," Ed said. "As soon as the debris is clear and we're given the OK, we'll get you out of there."

"I know you will Ed. That's not what I'm worried about..." Sam said sluggishly, his voice going out at the end. His head was killing him and he was so tired.

Hearing the drowsiness in Sam's voice, Steve started to worry even more. "Hey, hey, hey!" He called over the comms anxiously. "Sam, you have to stay awake, OK? Do not go to sleep!"

As Sam struggled to do what Steve said, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. "Sorry Steve," Sam breathed out before succumbing to unconsciousness, completely oblivious to the desperate shouts from his teammates coming over the comms.

...

After several of their desperate calls for Sam went unanswered, the members of Team One shared a saddened look. Steve tried to calm their fears by reassuring them that Sam was still alive, because it was for his benefit as much as it was for theirs, but he knew the only thing that would truly soothe them was Sam.

...

As Steve monitored Sam the best he could over the comms, the members of Team One geared up and got ready so they could enter the building as soon as they got the OK.

Spike and Lou watched as Ed and Jules checked their guns. Spike raised an eyebrow at them. "Do you guys really think that's necessary?"

"You heard what Sam said and you saw the video," Ed answered. "There's someone else in there and we need to be prepared."

"But do you really think he survived? The explosion was massive; it leveled almost half of the building!"

"Sam survived," Jules said pointedly.

"Yeah, but he's Samtastic; I wouldn't expect anything less," Spike said admiringly. "This guy on the other hand…we don't know if he's even alive, and if he is, I doubt he'll be in any shape to try and do something."

"Preparedness is key Spike," Greg said as he joined the group. "You need to take your gear as well. There's still at least one bomb unaccounted for and I don't want any more surprises."

Spike nodded and ran to the truck to get his gear. The rest of Team One looked back towards the building, silently willing the rescue team to finish moving the debris.

Moments after Spike returned to the group, a member of the rescue team came over. "We have the entrance cleared and we've added some additional support where it was needed. However, even with the added support, the structure is still not as stable as we would like. Since I'm sure I can't keep you from going in there," he said, sending a pointed look to all of the armed and determined SRU officers. "Be careful. Go in one at a time and don't stay any longer than you need to; the less stress on the remaining structure, the better."

The members of Team One nodded understandably and the rescue crew member returned to his group. Before Team One moved out, Ed turned to face Steve. "Stay right outside of the exit until we find Sam. The less people in there, the better."

Steve nodded and went to join his partner by their ambulance, which was next to the newest ambulance that was called out after the revelation that someone else was in the explosion with Sam.

All members of Team One, minus the one inside the building, made their way to the entrance. Entering the building one at a time, the members of Team One came face to face with the devastation that had housed their teammate, and friend, for the past few hours. Dust and debris mixed with bits and pieces of sheetrock and rebar covered the floor. Gaping holes and exposed brick stood where whole walls once did and they each found themselves more than thankful that Sam had survived.

Any fears Team One had about the bomber were settled when they found his unconscious body behind a corner desk, the second bomb still inside and unarmed in the bag beside him. After Spike confirmed that the bomb wasn't going to blow, Greg called in the paramedics to take him to the hospital and a uni to accompany them in case the bomber regained consciousness and tried to do something.

Once the bomber had been taken care of, the members of Team One moved further into the building. They decided to split up and cover more ground so Ed, Wordy and Lou went to the left and Greg, Jules and Spike went to the right. Nothing turned up with Greg, Jules and Spike's search, but Ed, Wordy and Lou were a bit luckier. Behind a pile of rubble near the stairs, a pair of black boots could be seen, as well as a _very_ familiar pair of gray "cool" pants. Rounding the corner of the rubble, Ed, Wordy and Lou came face to face with the unconscious, bloodied face of their teammate.

"Sam!" They all three called in unison.

"Greg, we found him!" Ed called to the others over the comms. "Get to the east side of the building, now!"

Hearing the urgency in Ed's voice, Greg, Jules and Spike quickly but carefully made their way to the other side of the building. When they arrived, the three of them saw Lou standing close by and just the tops of Ed's and Wordy's heads sticking out over the pile of rubble and debris. Rounding the corner of the pile they saw Ed bent over Sam's unconscious body checking his pulse and Wordy was holding a bandage to a freely bleeding gash on the back of Sam's head.

"Eddy?" Greg asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Pulse is strong, but slow." Ed said, looking up at him. "We need to get Steve in here."

Nodding, Greg called for him over the comms. Knowing that both Steve and his partner plus a lot of medical equipment would be needed, Greg knew that they would need to clear out.

"Alright guys," Greg said, pulling out his Sergeant voice. "Ed, Wordy, you two stay with Sam. Jules, Spike, Lou-Steve and his partner are both going to be in here with a lot of gear. I don't want to stress the structure anymore than we need too. Let's wait outside while they take care of Sam."

As much as Jules, Lou and Spike wanted to stay with Sam, Greg's tone warranted no arguments. With one last look at Sam, Greg, Jules, Spike and Lou all headed out of the building the same time Steve and his partner entered, pulling the stretcher between them.

...

With one final glance back at Sam, Jules was able to see Steve and his partner trade places with Ed and Wordy and start treating Sam.

Time seemed to moved incredibly slow as two-thirds of Team One stood outside the blown up building, waiting for the rest of their teammates to get out. They knew Sam was alive, and getting the best possible treatment he could get in his current situation, but they would not feel better until Sam was out of that building and on his way to the hospital.

Less than ten minutes later, although it felt like an eternity, Ed and Wordy exited the building. They were closely followed by Steve and his partner, the stretcher holding Sam in between them. After loading Sam into the ambulance, Wordy climbed in as well and they sped off to the hospital. Ed and the others were left standing there, watching as the ambulance carrying their teammate drove out of sight.

"Eddy?" Greg asked, looking at his team leader and friend. "How is he?"

Ed sighed and rubbed a hand across his tired face. "He's still unconscious. Steve wasn't too happy with Sam's pupillary responses, but he was doing everything he could for him."

Seeing the incredibly worried looks on his teammates' faces, Ed quickly added "Steve's confident that Sam only has a bad concussion—nothing too serious or life-altering."

The members of Team One were overcome with relief at Ed's last statement and, after making sure their job was done and the unis had the scene covered, Greg, Ed, Spike, Jules and Lou all piled into the SUVs and rushed off to the hospital where Wordy would hopefully have an update for them.

...

Fifteen minutes later, the members of Team One found Wordy slumped in a chair. As they approached him, they all prepared themselves for the worst.

"Wordy?" Jules asked cautiously. "Has there been any news?"

Wordy sighed and looked up from his hands to the concerned faces of his teammates. "No word yet. Sam was unconscious the entire ride here, but Steve said his vitals remained strong the entire time. He seemed to be waking up as they were moving him into the ER, but I don't know for sure and no one's told me anything."

Sighing with disappointment, everyone grabbed a seat around the waiting room and settled in, ready to wait as long as it took to get an update on Sam.

...

Two hours later and several things had happened. First, Holleran had called Greg and took Team One off of duty for the rest of shift. Then, local unis who were still working the scene had called with updates from not only the explosion, but the attempted bank robbery as well. _That_ conversation was not as pleasant as the conversation with Holleran and, after Greg relayed the phone call to the team, it left all members frustrated and upset. Team One had also received an update on the bomber, who would be released into police custody the following morning after he was observed overnight, but they still had no update whatsoever on Sam.

Having his frustration reach an all-time max, Ed quickly rose from his seat and was about to storm over to the nurse's station and demand an update when the ER doors opened and an exhausted looking doctor walked out.

Seeing the group of uniformed SRU officers, the doctor walked right over to them. "Am I right to assume that you all are here for Sam Braddock?"

Every member of Team One nodded and stood to move closer to the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Johnson; I've been treating Sam since he arrived. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get out here and give you an update—Sam's been keeping us on our toes for a while." Seeing the fearful looks on Team One's faces, Dr. Johnson was quick to continue and ease their worries. "Don't worry, he's stable. He has a very serious concussion, the side effects of which are definitely making themselves known. With the concussion alone, we're going to keep him in here for a few days for observation, but he also has 4 broken ribs and several bruised ribs. The ribs were a clean break so we have them wrapped and we have him on some IV pain medication. We were able to close the gash on the back of Sam's head with 4 staples and there were some other lacerations on his arms and face that required a few stitches, but most were superficial. Because of how filthy he was when he arrived, and the amount of information we were able to get from the paramedics, I also have Sam on a very strong IV antibiotic to try and prevent any infections. He's also covered in bruises. All in all, Sam's going to be extremely sore and have one hell of a headache for a while, but he going to make a full recovery."

The relief that came with the doctor's assurance that Sam would recover was almost palpable. Dr. Johnson smiled at the relieved looks that came over the faces of Team One. These were the kind of updates he liked giving.

"We will be moving him to a private room in a few minutes," Dr. Johnson announced to the group. "If you want to head to the third floor waiting room, I'll have a nurse come and get you once Sam is settled in."

Greg thanked Dr. Johnson, then joined Ed, Wordy, Spike, Lou and Jules on the long trek up to the third floor.

...

Thirty minutes after arriving in the third floor waiting room, a nurse came out to meet Team One. She walked them through the halls and stopped them outside of Sam's room. The older, gray-haired nurse turned to face them. "You can all go in, but keep your visit short and quiet; he has a headache. You have fifteen minutes until visiting hours are over." The nurse finished laying down her rules then stalked off to deal with her other patients, leaving a slightly shocked Team One in her wake.

The members of Team One all shared a disbelieving look before silently entering Sam's darkened hospital room. As they all gathered around the bed, they got a good look and their injured teammate, despite the little light in the lines were etched on to Sam's face and the multitude of cuts and bruises that covered his body stood out in stark contrast on the paleness of Sam's skin.

As Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike, Jules and Lou all closed in around the hospital bed, Sam's exhausted, pained eyes opened to meet them. "Hey guys."

Hearing Sam's quiet, tired voice made all of his teammates smile.

"Hey buddy," Ed said quietly, happy to see his teammate awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

Spike chuckled. "Not a truck buddy; it's more like a building fell on you."

Sam gave a small laugh before the pain in his chest stopped him. Wrapping an arm around his ribs with a small groan, Sam added, "Yeah, that's definitely more fitting. Did you guys find the other guy?"

"Yeah, we did. He was unconscious next to the second bomb." Ed said, pressing the button to give Sam more pain relief. Sam gave him a small, thankful smile.

"It turns out the bomber was the buddy of our attempted bank robber." Greg announced. Six pairs of shocked eyes turned to look at him. He had not mentioned this fact to anyone. "Yeah. According to the unis that interviewed the robber at the scene after we left and the one guarding the bomber now, our bomber was watching the robbery play out and when he saw us pull up, he thought the bombs would distract us enough to give his buddy time to escape."

"Are you kidding me?" Jules asked in disbelief.

"'Fraid so. Apparently they saw it work on some TV show or something…" Greg trailed off, rolling his eyes at the obvious stupidity involved in the plan.

The members of Team One all stared at each other, shocked into silence. No one knew what to say about the situation; they were at a complete loss of words.

After a few moments of shocked silence, Sam broke the silence. "Let me get this straight—I got blown up and trapped in a building because of some stupid ' _it'll work because I saw it on TV"_ type of plan?!" After seeing Greg's head nod, Sam exclaimed "Oh my God."

Sam's exclamation brought on a huge release of stress and tension and soon everyone in the room was laughing. The rest of their visit was filled with quiet chatter and laughter until the grouchy nurse from before came to kick them out.

Each member of Team One said goodbye to Sam before leaving to head back to the Barn to change and go home. Ed was the last one to leave. He walked up to the side of Sam's bed and lightly squeezed his arm. "You really scared us today Samo. I think we're going to have to start bubble wrapping you when you're on the clock."

Sam gave him a small smile through the exhaustion and haze of pain medicine. "Somehow I don't think that's going to make a huge difference, but I appreciate the thought."

Ed smiled at the cheeky reply but before he could reply, Sam's nurse cleared her throat, definitely unimpressed with the fact that he was still there. Ed glared at her then turned his attention back to Sam. "Rest up and listen to the doctors. We'll be back again tomorrow."

"Thanks Ed." Sam said as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

Ed smiled down at him then left the room, not bothering to say anything to crotchety nurse glaring at him in the corner. As he got into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor, Ed thought back to earlier events and how differently things could have turned out. He realized that, as much as he hated any of his team being in the hospital, the hospital was way better than the alternative.

Sam was going to be OK and Team One would be whole again. Their crazy, dysfunctional family would be whole again.

* * *

 **The end (of this one-shot anyways).**

 **I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Stay tuned for the next one!  
(I don't know when that one will go up because I'll be out of state next week and won't have my computer. I promise to get it up ASAP though!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next one-shot. It's shorter than the last one, but I hope you guys like it all the same!**

 **Enjoy!**

 *** _italics_ are thoughts***

* * *

 **The One with the Death**

"Everyone in position?" Ed asked quietly over the comms. Hearing confirmations from every member of Team One, he checked his gun one more time. "Alright, on my count, and remember—slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and—"

" _Fast is lethal!"_ came over the comms and brought a smile to Ed's face.

"Very good, boys and girl. On three—one, two, three. GO! GO! GO!"

Ed's order sounded in the ears of Team One as they entered the warehouse; Ed, Spike and Jules from the east and Sam, Wordy and Greg from the west. A team from Narcotics entered from the north end of the warehouse and the surprise arrival of twelve armed officers sent the drug smugglers they had come to arrest scrambling. Shouts of "SRU!" and "hands in the air" filled the once almost silent warehouse as everyone rushed in.

Of the eight smugglers that were in the warehouse, six were caught and cuffed. The two remaining made a run for it, each going in a different direction. Sam handed the guy he had cuffed to one of the free narcotic officers and took off after one of them, Spike following close behind. Ed went after the second one with Wordy in tow.

The man Ed and Wordy were chasing quickly realized the predicament he was in and made the smart decision to surrender. Sam and Spike's guy, unfortunately, was not going to go down without a fight.

He led Sam and Spike on what could only be described as a wild goose chase through the entire warehouse, ending in a large room filled with rows and rows of shipping containers.

Having lost the subject, and not knowing whether or not he was armed, Sam and Spike radioed in over the headset and soon, the other members of Team One were with them, ready to search for their missing subject.

Everyone spread out and started to search, each person taking a row of shipping containers. As they searched, they stayed on high alert; no one knew where the subject had gone and no one wanted to be caught off guard.

The members of Team One kept in constant communication with each other over the comms. They would quietly call in when they completed searching a row and when they started searching a new one.

After almost ten minutes of searching, the subject was no where to be found and most of Team One were beginning to think that their subject had snuck past them and made his way outside.

Greg was standing in the middle of a couple of rows with Ed, Jules and Wordy while Spike and Sam finished searching their rows. Greg was just about to call one of the police officers they had stationed outside to see if anyone had been out there when two gunshots sounded, in close succession, from the far side of the warehouse. Greg, Ed, Wordy and Jules began making their way towards the source of the gunshots and calling Spike and Sam over the comms for a status update. Their steps quickened to a full-out sprint when they heard Spike yell "Sam!" over the comms, fear clearly evident in his voice.

"Spike, status!" Ed called over the comms, fearful of what the report would be.

"Subject's contained; he's cuffed with a through-and-through gunshot wound to the arm." Spike said hurriedly, then added quietly, "Oh shit _."_

"Spike, what's going on?"

"Officer down! Get the medics in here NOW! Sam's been shot!"

At Spike's revelation, the hearts of Team One sank. They picked up their speed and ran faster than any of them had probably ever ran. Turning the corner on the row Sam and Spike were on, they came face to face with the horror that was the current situation.

The subject that had been the cause of all of this sat handcuffed up against the side of one of the shipping containers, the gunshot wound in his upper arm sluggishly bleeding. Sam was deathly pale, lying semi-conscious in a rapidly growing pool of his own blood. Spike was kneeling beside him holding one of the pressure bandages they always carried with them to the gushing gunshot wound on Sam's neck. The knees of Spike's "cool pants" were stained with Sam's blood as the pool of blood around him, unfortunately, continued to grow.

The other members of Team One sprang into action. Greg immediately called for the EMS on scene and for an additional ambulance to be sent out. Jules ran to Sam and situated herself behind his head. Her hands locked his head and neck in place and her fingers stroked his hair and cheeks, hoping to give him comfort of some kind.

Wordy dropped by Sam's left side and his fingers immediately went to the inside of Sam's wrist. "His pulse is weak."

Ed dropped down in between Wordy and Jules and put his hand on Sam's chest. He could feel Sam's short, frantic breaths and the rapid rise and fall of his chest. Ed leaned over and looked Sam in the face. "Samo, look at me. Don't try to talk, just look at me." Ed waited for Sam's eyes to find his and when they did, Ed's heart broke at the fear he saw in them. "You're going to be OK buddy, you're going to be OK." Ed told him, trying to soothe the fear and tension he saw and felt in Sam's body. _Please be OK,_ Ed thought to himself. He could see that it was bad, everyone could, and he knew that Sam knew it was bad, but Ed needed to remain positive and hopeful. Sam _needed_ him to stay positive and hopeful.

Sam fought hard to stay awake, but he was too weak from the blood loss and he lost his battle with consciousness just as the first set of paramedics arrived.

They immediately began working to treat and stabilize Sam seeing that he was, without a doubt, the most critical of the two injured victims.

The paramedics made everyone move away from Sam except Spike, who was continuing to apply pressure to the still bleeding wound on Sam's neck. After the paramedics check all of Sam's vitals and get him started on an IV, they tell Spike to move away and they replace his pressure bandage with a new one of their own.

Spike rocked back on his heels and watched helplessly as the paramedics worked to save the man who had become his best friend.

The paramedics tried to keep their faces calm and blank, as to not worry the group of concerned SRU members watching their every move, but their quick, hasty movements showed the true severity of the situation. The two paramedics, Mitch and Justin, along with Ed, Wordy and Spike all gently and carefully moved Sam onto the stretcher.

Strapping him down and securing him to the stretcher, Mitch and Justin rushed Sam out of the warehouse and into the waiting ambulance. Lights flashing and sirens blaring, the ambulance peeled out of the parking lot and sped off towards the hospital.

The despondent members of Team One had followed Sam out to the ambulance but, due to the severity of Sam's condition, none of them were allowed to ride with him. They watched as the ambulance carrying their critically injured teammate and friend off to the hospital.

 _Stay with us Sam, stay with us._

 _Come on Samo. Fight._

 _Come on Sam, you can survive this. Don't stop fighting._

 _Keep fighting buddy, I can't lose you too._

 _You can't leave us Sam. We need you. I need you. Please be OK._

Casting one final glance back into the warehouse and the large pool of Sam's blood on the floor, Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules piled into the SUVs and headed to the hospital, following the second ambulance that carried their wounded subject, where they would wait for news on Sam.

...

Three hours.

Team One sat in the surgical waiting room of St. Simon's waiting for news on Sam for three long hours. Hour four was approaching and they had still not received any real update, no matter how intimidating or concerned they were when they asked the nurse at the desk.

"He's still in surgery," or "When there is an update to give, I will give one to you," were the usual responses they got and, as frustrating as it was, the members of Team One were clinging to the thought that no news was good news.

So there they sat, waiting and waiting. None of them could even be bothered to go back to the Barn and get a change of clothes for everyone, so they were all still in their uniforms though they ditched the Kevlar around hour one.

Wordy drug an almost catatonic Spike to the bathroom and stayed with him until Sam's blood had been washed from his hands. When the two of them returned to the waiting room, Spike looked a little better, but his pants and parts of his shirt were still stained with Sam's blood and it served as an unfortunate reminder of why they were there.

...

It was nearing the end of the fourth hour when the doors to the OR opened and an exhausted surgeon with blood stained scrubs walked out. The surgeon's weary eyes sought out the group of SRU officers and, keeping his face impassive, he walked over to meet them. "Family of Sam Braddock?"

Greg and the rest of Team One stood up to meet the doctor. "We're his SRU team. His family's out of the country at the moment."

"I'm Dr. Stevens; I operated on Mr. Braddock," the doctor said as he introduced himself to the group of people who obviously cared deeply for his patient.

"How is he?" Spike asked, an uneasy quiver in his voice.

"Because of the amount of blood he lost, he crashed in the ambulance. Thankfully, the medics were able to get him back. When he arrived in the ER, he was in shock and his blood pressure was almost completely bottomed out. After two blood transfusions in the trauma room, he was stable enough to be moved into surgery. The bullet ruptured several smaller arteries in his neck and almost completely severed his carotid artery." Dr. Stevens looked around at the group before him as he shared this information. This was the kind of thing he hated the most about being a doctor. "We continued to push blood transfusions throughout the surgery and worked as quickly as possible to try and repair the damage but the massive amount blood loss and resulting trauma to his body was too much and when he flat lined on the table, we weren't able to revive him. I'm so sorry."

Time seemed to stop as the doctor finished his update and the world crumbled around Team One. They all felt the immediate loss of Sam, but they each felt the loss of Sam on a deep, personal level.

For Greg, not only had he lost one of his officers—one with strong morals, a caring, compassionate heart and amazing skill—but he also lost a man he thought of as a son.

Greg ran a hand over his head, sorrow and hurt replacing any other emotion.

For Ed, he lost a teammate, a friend, and even a role model. Sam's accuracy with a riffle in multiple conditions and his awe-inspiring skill with things like tactical planning were like second-nature to Sam and it was something he greatly admired about the man. He and Sam were a lot alike, that's probably why they always butted heads. Sam's future both in and outside of the SRU was incredibly bright and the fact that Sam's life had been cut short is such a cruel way was sickening and unfair.

Anger at the situation and sorrow overwhelmed Ed and he had to turn away from his teammates, fists and jaw clenched, in an attempt to keep himself from completely breaking down.

For Wordy, his feeling of loss went far beyond the team. Yes, he would miss Sam being on the team terribly, but Sam was more than just a teammate; Sam was a member of his family. Wordy himself thought of Sam as a son, Shelley loved him like a brother and he was Uncle Sam to his three little girls who absolutely adored him.

Wordy rubbed his hands over his face and hung his head. He couldn't force himself to even think of how he would explain this to Shel and the girls. The loss of Sam would be felt in the Wordsworth family and the SRU for a very long time.

For Spike, he lost a brother and a best friend; he lost the man that had stepped up after Lou's death and helped him through the pain and mourning associated with it. Sure, the others helped as well, but Sam had experienced similar things and always seemed to know what Spike needed on one of his bad days.

Spike stood, frozen in shock by the doctor's revelation. Tears welled up in his eyes before he put an arm around Jules and drew her in to his embrace, wanting to receive her comfort as much as he wanted to give her comfort.

For Jules, she lost her best friend and the love of her life. They had just been given the green light to date not even two months ago. They had plans for the future, not only their future with the SRU but their future with each other, and now all those plans had been thrown out the window.

Tears immediately began pouring down her cheeks and when Spike pulled her in to his embrace, Jules went willingly.

Dr. Stevens saw the group of officers in front of him struggle with the multitude of emotions that came with news like this. When he felt that they had collected themselves enough, he offered to take them to see Sam and say goodbye. When they all expressed the want to go, Dr. Stevens led them down the hall and into the room where Sam was.

Sam was lying on the table with just a sheet covering him from the chest down. Under the bright lights of the room, Sam's pale body looked to be the same color as the sheet.

Greg, Ed and Wordy approached Sam first to say their goodbyes. Spike soon followed and Jules was left standing alone by the door, unable to move any further. She knew she needed to see him and say goodbye, but she didn't want to face the truth. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for what was to come, Jules moved forward towards the lifeless body of her teammate and the love of her life.

... ... ...

Jules woke with a start. Her breathing was ragged as she looked around and tried to get her bearings. A relieved sigh slipped from her lips when, in the dark of their bedroom, she saw Sam sleeping peacefully next to her, alive and healthy. _Thank god, it was just a bad dream._

After taking a few deep breaths to get her breathing back under control, Jules laid back down and snuggled closer into Sam's side hoping that the added closeness would keep any more bad dreams away, just like they always did.

* * *

 **The End!**

 **AH! It was all just a dream!**

 **I gotta say, I kind of hate myself after this one, lol. I hope you guys don't hate me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm glad you guys liked my last upload and I apologize for any physical and/or emotional damage caused by the thought of Sam dying. My bad, but y'all should know by now that Sam is my dude and I would never actually kill him. Remember that! (:**

 **This is a tag of sorts to my previous story _While You Were Gone_ _,_ so if you've read that one, this is the story of how Sam (and Team One) found out that Sam was going back overseas AND it's somewhat inspired by kenyancougar's story Recall.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ ***italics**_ **are thoughts***

* * *

 **The One with the Recall**

Sam was the first member of Team One to arrive for their pre-shift workout, as has been his MO for the recent weeks. He always liked to come in an hour or so before the others and workout a little on his own, a workout before the workout.

Sam was in great shape, there was no denying that, so the other members of Team One were confused as to why he _always_ did the double workout. Ed and Greg had both assured him that it wasn't necessary, thinking it might have something to do with his soldier background, but Sam shrugged it off. All his life he was taught that he needed to be the best. He needed to be ready, both physically and mentally, for whatever could come his way. He had to be ready to protect and defend his team and his country. It was one of the few things his father had forcefully instilled in him that Sam was continually thankful for.

...

Sam had only been in the gym for maybe 5 minutes when Ben, the night dispatcher, came to the door and got his attention. "Hey Sam?"

At the uneasiness heard in Ben's voice, Sam put the dumbbells he was using down and looked at Ben. "What's up, Ben?"

"Um, General Braddock is here to see you. He says it's crucial that he speaks to you and that he's not leaving until he does."

Several emotions coursed through Sam at that moment, but the main one was annoyance. _Why is he here?! What's so important that he had to come to the SRU to tell me?_

"Thanks Ben. Is the briefing room empty?" Sam asked, putting his dumbbells back on the rack. At Ben's nod Sam smiled, hoping to comfort the uncomfortable looking dispatcher. Sam felt bad for the guy. Sam's relationship with his father, or that there lack of, and the turmoil that usually followed an encounter between the two was common knowledge in the SRU and, rare as it was, no one particularly liked it when the General showed up.

"Great. Tell the General I'll meet him in there shortly. Thanks Ben."

Ben nodded and left the gym to go and relay the message to the waiting General.

Shortly after Ben led the General to the briefing room, Sam arrived and closed the doors behind him-separating the rest of the SRU from the explosion that was bound to happen with the two Braddock men in the same room.

...

Fifteen minutes later, Ben and the members of Team Two were the (not so) lucky ones to witness the aftermath of Sam's meeting with the General. The briefing room doors opened with such force it's a miracle they didn't break. A visibly angry Sam stormed out of the room and headed straight towards the locker room and the gun cage, not bothering to look at anyone else. The General left just as sternly as Sam did, though he had a smug smile on his face.

No one knew where Sam had gone off too, and they weren't sure that going to look for him was a good decision, but the distinct sound of targets at the gun range being shot by a high-powered rifle could be heard in the distance and they knew that Sam was taking his anger and frustration out on the targets.

They didn't know what went down during Sam's meeting with his father, but from what they heard from the shooting range, the members of Team Two knew that whatever went down wasn't good.

...

By the time the rest of Team One made it to the Barn, Sam had still not returned from the shooting range. They saw that his locker had been opened, so they knew he was in the building somewhere, but when they made it to the gym Sam was nowhere to be found.

Ed made his way over to the weight bench and put his water bottle and towel down. "Anyone seen Sam yet?"

Wordy, Spike and Jules all shook their heads as they headed to their different workout stations. Greg was the last member to join the team in the gym. He noticed his missing team member as well, but having heard Ed's question and the response from the others, he decided not to ask as well. Checking his watch, he decided to give Sam five minutes to show up for work out before other measures would be taken.

...

There was less than two minutes left for Sam to show up for work out and he was still nowhere to be seen. Greg was about to send Spike and Jules out to find Sam when Team Four's Sergeant Troy walked past the gym in his civilian clothes ready to go home. Noticing that Team One was in the gym—and their youngest and blondest member was not—Troy stopped.

"Hey guys," he called as he entered the gym. "Sam's not back yet?"

Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules all stopped their workouts to turn and look at Troy.

Greg climbed off the exercise bike he was using. "You've seen Sam today?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "He showed up early, like he always does."

"Well, where'd he go?" Ed asked, crossing his arms. "He couldn't have left; his stuff is still in his locker."

Troy sighed, already anticipating the reaction Team One would have to what he was about to tell them. "Just a few minutes after he arrived this morning, General Braddock showed up. He said it was critical that he speak to Sam and that he wasn't leaving until he did. Sam agreed to talk to him and they went into the briefing room. Fifteen minutes later, Sam stormed out of the room and the General left with a smug smile on his face. Sam went straight to the shooting range and, as far as I know, he's been there ever since."

"Do you know what their conversation was about?" Wordy asked, concerned at his teammate's reaction.

"No, but you guys know more about Sam's relationship with his dad than I do. You guys know, better than anyone, that things never end well when they get together."

"Thanks Troy," Greg called over his shoulder.

He, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules all rushed out of the gym and headed towards the shooting range, hoping to find Sam there.

They were in luck; Sam was still there, but the visible tension in his body let them all know that Sam's emotions were still not under control.

The members of Team One watched their sniper for a moment as each of his rapid-fire shots hit their mark.

When Sam ran out of ammo and had to reload, Ed stepped forward. "I think the target's done for Samo, no need to keep shooting it," Ed joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Sam said nothing; he didn't even acknowledge Ed or the rest of the team's presence. Sam reloaded his gun and continued massacring his target with bullets.

Sharing a concerned look with the rest of the team, Jules stepped forward. Carefully approaching Sam, Jules waited until he stopped to reload again before she put a hand on his arm.

At Jules' touch, Sam stopped reloading his gun. He didn't look at her or anyone else, and the tension in his body was still clearly visible, but he had at least stopped the shooting.

"Sam? What's going on?" Jules asked once she was sure Sam was at least somewhat listening to her. "Troy said your father was here...?"

Everyone heard Sam scoff at the mention of his father. Placing his gun on the shelf in front of him and crossing his arms tight across his chest, Sam turned to face his team. They were shocked into silence at the overwhelming mix of emotions they say in Sam's eyes: anger, hatred, sorrow and perhaps the most alarming, fear.

"Sam?" Ed asked, practically demanding his rookie continue speaking and tell them what happened.

Knowing his team and, specifically his team leader, Sam knew they wouldn't let up until he told the what happened."Not now. Not here."

"Sam," Wordy added in this time.

"Look. I WILL tell you, all of you, but not here." Sam said as he ran his hands down his face. "Meet me in the briefing room in about 5 minutes; I need to get Commander Holleran."

Sam walked out of the shooting range leaving a dumbstruck and concerned Team One behind him.

Shaking off the stupor this whole situation with Sam had left them in, Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules all left the shooting range and headed for the briefing room. As they walked, each one was lost in their thoughts, trying to figure out what possibly could've happened between Sam and his dad to make him act like this; they didn't know what it was, but they knew it couldn't have been good.

Entering the briefing room, Sam and Commander Holleran had not yet arrived.

Settling in around the conference table, the members of Team One were so distracted thinking about the upcoming meeting that they were completely oblivious to Sam and Commander Holleran entering the room.

The only thing that snapped them out of it was the sound of the briefing room door closing. Seeing that both Sam and Commander Holleran had finally joined them, everyone turned in their chairs to face Sam, waiting for him to begin.

The room was silent for a few minutes. It was obvious to everyone that Sam was trying his absolute hardest to reign in his emotions and he was fighting to stay in control and it made their hearts hurt.

After a while, when he had gotten ahold of his emotions, Sam took a deep breath and looked out at the group of people that had become his family. "As you all know by now, the General stopped by early this morning, requesting to talk to me and refusing to leave until his request was met," Sam started, hoping to get everything out while he had the courage to do so and his emotions were under control. "I agreed to see him, if only to make him leave. I figured that he wanted to talk about what he ALWAYS wants to talk about—me leaving SRU and going back to the military where I can, quote, 'go back to making a difference'".

Sam's last comment brought on several scoffs and eye rolls from not only the members of Team One, but Commander Holleran as well. Holleran knew first-hand how stubborn General Braddock could be.

"This time was different though—way different." Sam continued, taking another deep breath. This was the hard part. "Apparently there is a special clause in JTF2 contracts—a recall clause—that states any member of Special Forces, past or present, active duty or not, can be called back to full active duty if their specific skill set is needed for a mission of absolute importance for up to five years past their discharge date…"

As Sam continued to speak, recognition dawned across the faces of Team One and Commander Holleran and their hearts dropped into their stomachs.

"My old unit and another unit within the JTF2 have been working a specific, highly classified mission for the past two months, trying to take down a big-name target. As always, they got the job done and the mission was declared a success—almost."

"What does 'almost' mean?" Spike asked from his seat.

"Not everyone that went on the mission came back." Sam answered, making eye contact with Spike before looking away. "There were a few that were taken prisoner by a radical insurgent group that's been causing problems for months now. The rescue and retrieval of these men has been classified as top priority. The General, along with the higher-ups in JTF2, is assembling a unit filled with the 'best of the best' to do the rescue."

"Were the men taken from your old unit?" Wordy asked sympathetically.

"No, thankfully." Sam said, a hint of relief in his voice. "But there are still soldiers being held prisoner that need to be rescued. The General wants it done sooner rather than later."

"And he came to talk to you because…" Ed asked, dreading the answer he suspected Sam was about to give.

The dark shroud that covered Sam when they found him in the shooting range returned full force and covered him again. "Because _apparently,_ " Sam almost spat out, "the other 50+ snipers currently still in active duty aren't good enough to go on the mission, which is wrong and insulting because I helped train most of them and I know how good they are. The General always gets what he wants and he somehow managed to convince the CCA that it was absolutely necessary and crucial to the mission that the recall clause in my contract be activated."

Sam seemed to almost deflate as he continued talking. Sinking down in the chair at the head of the table, he delivered the news every member of Team One feared he would. "I'm going back to Kandahar."

No one knew what to say; they were all various mixtures of shocked, upset, angry, confused, so many emotions.

For several minutes, the briefing room was silent.

Suddenly, Ed rose from his chair quickly and slammed his hands down on the table. "Dammit Sam, he can't do this to you!"

"Yes he can," Sam said quietly. "The CCA ruled in his favor."

"I get that rescuing POWs is a big deal, but why do you have to go back?" Spike asked, confused as to why his friend had to go back to that hell hole. "You said yourself that there are plenty of other snipers in Special Forces that you trained yourself, so I know they're good..."

Sam smiled slightly at Spike's compliment, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks Spike, but it's more than that. The soldiers that were taken were from one of JTF2's recon units. That unit's sole purpose is to go on covert assignments and gather much needed information not only on our enemies, but other JTF2 units as well...unofficially of course."

"So these guys know things that other units don't?" Greg asked, trying to understand the whole situation.

"Right, and that little bit of information was all the General had to pitch to the CCA to get what he wanted; me back in the military."

"There isn't anything you can do?" Jules asked, hoping for a miracle. She had been quiet throughout the entire conversation, trying to wrap her head around the thought of the man she loved having to go back into a warzone.

Sam shook his head. "No. I have my orders and I ship out in three days."

"They're not giving you any time to train with your unit?!" Wordy asked, shocked.

"Any training we need will be done once we touch down in the desert. To my knowledge, the other members in the unit are all being plucked from active units for the sake of this mission. I'm the only one they're bringing back."

"Does that not sound suspicious to you?!" Ed asked, raging at what the General was putting his own son through.

"Of course it does! The General's been waiting for an opportunity like this to get me back in the Army since I left! I wouldn't be surprised if he _ordered_ those soldiers to be taken prisoner just to have something that warrants me being recalled; the guy's an ass, that's not new information!" Sam raged before collapsing back in his chair and rubbing his hands over his face. Quieter than before, he continued speaking. "I can't believe this is happening."

The hearts of Team One and Commander Holleran broke at the sight of Sam looking so broken. No one knew what they could say to make this easier because honestly, they were having trouble coming to terms with and accepting it as well.

Commander Holleran was the first person to break the newfound silence and approach Sam. He put a comforting hand on his shoulder and waited to speak until Sam looked at him. "Do what you need to do and _WHEN_ you come back, your spot on Team One will be waiting for you."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself over there Sam."

Sam nodded and Commander Holleran left the room, leaving the members of Team One alone in the briefing room.

As much as they wanted to stay in the comfort of the briefing room and have time to process the gigantic bomb dropped on them by Sam and General Braddock, duty called. Their shift had not started yet and although Holleran had offered to have another team take their shift, Sam wanted to work and do the job he loved for as long as he could before he had to leave again. He wanted to spend as much time with his team, his _family,_ as he could.

...

Three days later, all of Team One stood on the tarmac with Sam, watching as the military transport plane that would take him away prepped for takeoff.

The past few days had been a blur for Sam. Between work, packing, and making sure things at home would be taken care of while he was gone, he was exhausted and just wanted this nightmare to end.

A uniformed soldier over by the plane waved Sam forward, telling him it was time to go. Sam nodded back at him and turned to face his team and sighed. He hated goodbyes. "I have to-"

Before Sam could even finish what he was saying, Jules surged forward and hugged him fiercely. Sam hugged her back just as tightly; he could feel her tears staining his shirt.

"You better come back." Jules said quietly. Then, even quieter, she added, "I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you so you NEED to come back."

Sam closed his eyes and laid his head down on hers for a moment before opening his eyes and looking at her. "I promise."

Jules let him go and moved back, letting the other members of Team One in for a hug. They all said things similar to Jules, equally as heartfelt just not as romantic.

Ed was the last person to hug Sam. When he pulled away, he looked Sam in the eyes and spoke in a voice that booked no arguments. "You were wrong you know."

At Sam's confused look, Ed continued. "A few days ago, when you said the General always gets what he wants? You were wrong, because if that was the truth, you wouldn't be in the SRU and you wouldn't be working towards and helping make a difference. You will ALWAYS be the one thing the General got wrong and I am SO thankful for that."

Sam smiled, thankful for this particular, special relationship that had formed throughout the years. "Thanks Ed. That means more than you know."

Ed smiled. "You're welcome. Now, go get the job done in Samtastic fashion and _when_ you get back, there will be a new course record for you to beat."

Sam laughed. "I look forward to breaking it."

Before anyone could say anything else, a voice shouted from the back of the plane. "Braddock! Let's go!"

Sam sighed. He gave one final goodbye before turning and walking towards the plane.

...

The members of Team One watched as their teammate and friend boarded the plane. As it took off, they were all left holding on to the promise that Sam had made them—the promise that he would come back.

Leaving the airstrip, Jules couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

She was right.

* * *

 ***CCA- Commander of the Canadian Army (I don't know if it's a real thing or not. I saw it in another story on here and decided to go with it.)***

 **The End!**

 **Read _While You Were Gone_ if you want to know what happens to Sam!**

 **Sorry these updates are taking so long to get up! Working early mornings has me pretty busy (and exhausted, let's be real) but I'm trying my hardest to get these up for you guys as soon as I can!**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I've had this sitting on my computer for a while. I wasn't sure if I wanted to make it into a multi-chapter story or not SO, I thought I would upload the first chapter on here as a one-shot/preview of what's to come and see what you guys thought.**

 **Let me know what you think and if I should make this my next multi-chapter upload!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The One with Sam's Secret  
(Possible new story preview)**

 _"What the hell was that Braddock?!"_ Ed raged as he glared at the blonde rookie. The suspects hadn't even been handed over to the unis before Ed started yelling. _"You deliberately went against orders AND you broke cover!"_

Sam zoned out as Ed continued his rampage. He had heard it all before. Several times. He'd been on Team One for over a month now and things were just as rocky as they were day one.

The SRU was completely different than JTF2; the shoot-first, ask questions later mentality he'd had for so long wasn't going to cut it anymore. He knew that and he was trying his hardest to change, but none of his "teammates" even seemed willing to help him; all they did was berate him.

Not one member of Team One bothered to correct him when he made a mistake or help him when they saw him struggling; they just yelled at him.

Not one member of Team One bothered to get to know him; they just judged him based on preconceived notions regarding his military background and the comments of others.

This day was no different, though Sam thought it should have been. Ed assigned him Sierra one and ordered him to specific position. Sam went without argument, like the good soldier he'd been raised to be, even though he knew it wasn't the best position from a tactical standpoint.

When things started going south with the gunmen, Sam made the decision to break cover and move from his Sierra spot to a position that was more exposed, but tactically better to watch his teammates' backs.

If looks could kill, Sam would've been dead fifty times over from the menacing look he saw on Ed's face through his scope. It was a look that would've installed fear in anyone else but for Sam, it just foreshadowed the explosive dressing down he was sure to get; the same dressing down he got every time he did something "wrong".

Greg was able to talk both gunmen down and get everyone out safely. The hostages were safe, no one was harmed and no lives had to be taken. Everyone saw the call as a success, except for Ed. The only thing Ed saw was Sam disobeying his orders, just like he always did.

 _"Well?! Are you going to say anything Sam or are you just going to stand there?"_ Ed roared, staring at the silent ex-Special Forces soldier in front of him. He watched as the faraway look in Sam's eyes was replaced with a look of anger.

Sam sighed. He was tired of being treated like an outsider with no skills. " _Things started going south and the subjects moved. I didn't have a clear enough visual on them, the hostages or any of you guys in the position you put me in, so I moved."_

Ed exhaled loudly. _"Next time you want to go against orders, you better clear it with me or the boss first."_

Ed turned to walk away and Sam rolled his eyes. _"Like asking permission would make a difference,"_ Sam mumbled.

Ed stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Sam, a terrifying look on his face. _"What was that Braddock?"_

By this time, Greg, Wordy, Spike, Lou and Jules had made it back to the SUVs where Sam and Ed were having their talk. The five of them looked at Sam, waiting to see if cocky rookie answered.

 _"I said 'like asking permission would make a difference'."_ Sam answered, staring back at Ed with a glare that was just as fierce. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and continued talking. _"I go against orders; I get yelled at. I put my opinion out there or speak my mind about something, I get yelled at. Whatever it is, no matter how big or small, I get yelled at for my 'shoot first, ask questions later soldier mentality' and yet NO ONE here has even bothered to try and help me or show me the ropes. You throw me into the scene and wait for me to fail. You want my respect? It's a two-way street."_

No one had ever heard Sam blow up like that with anyone, especially Ed. They were all so shocked by his outburst that no one said anything; they just stared at him, mouths ajar.

Sam didn't know what came over him, but he had had enough of Ed's crap. All of the anger and emotions he had been bottling up since joining SRU suddenly burst out of him and, for once, he didn't bother to try and push them back down.

" _I'll follow your lead and obey your orders,"_ Sam continued, _"but if you think for one second that I'm going to stand by and let someone hurt the members on my team while I wait for permission, you are sadly mistaken."_

Before either Sam or Ed could say anything else, Greg and Wordy both stepped in to separate the two hotheads before their verbal sparring turned into physical sparring.

Sending his TL and rookie to two different SUVs, Greg shook his head at the current state of his team. Once Team One's job was done, and the unis had the scene under control, everyone got back in the SUVs to head back to the Barn for debrief—a debrief none of them were looking forward too.

...

Debrief went the same as all the rest. No one saw the reason behind Sam breaking cover—all they saw was him disobeying orders. No one tried to see his side of things, or even hear him out. No one even tried to stick up for him and stop the multitude of yelling aimed at him.

Sam figurede he'd be used to being yelled at by now. After all, growing up with General Badass as a father and spending years in the military had him well-versed in all types of yelling. However, Sam joined the SRU expecting it to be different, but he was learning first hand that it was not different at all.

...

Sam was the last one to enter the locker room after the debrief ended, a phone call delaying his arrival. By the time he made it in and was changing back into his civilian clothes the other members of Team One were dressed and ready to head out to grab an after-shift drink.

As Sam sat on the bench in front of his locker to put his shoes on, he found himself staring at the many, many pictures on his locker door—pictures he was sure his team hadn't even noticed.

The exhaustion that came with being hated by your entire team was really start to wear on Sam. He reached up to rub his forehead, trying to suppress the headache that threatened to start, and immediately heard scoffs from his teammates. He heard murmurs about how he was "sulking" after being chewed out but he paid them no mind and finished getting dressed.

As Sam stood up ready to go, Ed, Greg, Wordy, Spike and Lou all passed behind him on their way out of the locker room. They walked right past him, not bothering to invite him out with them, not bothering to tell him goodbye; they didn't even bother a simple look his way.

Had they looked back at him, they would've seen straight into his locker and the pictures that covered the back of his locker door—pictures of one thing in particular; an adorable little girl, no older than 2, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

Just like her daddy.

* * *

 **What do you think?**

 ***This takes place in early season 1, when Sam was still very new to the team. I might have exaggerated their negative feelings towards him, but it'll all work out in the end.***


	5. Chapter 5

**The One with The Right Move**

Team One was running out of time. Spike was running out of options and Lou's leg was shaking more than ever. They needed a solution and they needed one fast. Sam had a suspicion and knew he had a decision to make: save Lou now and deal with the consequences and his father later, or let Lou die. As much as Sam hated dealing with his father the latter option was unacceptable so he chose to do what he knew was right. Sam walked over to where everyone, apart from Spike and Lou, was standing. "Sarge, I think I might be able to save Lou."

Everyone on Team One turned to look at Sam. Spike and Lou, who are out with the mine and are still connected to the team through their mics, heard what Sam said and look at each other. Spike looks towards where the team is standing down range. "What are you talking about Sam? I've already tried everything I know."

Greg looked at his young sniper with a curious look. "What are you thinking Sam?"

Sam looked out towards where Spike and Lou are. "Spike, can you send me a picture of the mine?"

"Sam, what are you-"

"Spike, please, just send me a picture of the mine!"

"OK, hold on."

A few seconds passed and a picture popped up on Sam's phone screen. Sam looked at it and mumbled "I knew it." He looked up to the waiting and confused faces of his teammates, then out towards where Spike and Lou were. "Spike, trade places with me."

"WHAT?! Sam are you crazy?" Spike yelled, sharing a concerned look with Lou.

The rest of Team One showed similar concern as they looked at the young sniper like he had gone insane. Sam showed them all the picture that Spike sent. "This is military grade technology. This particular style of IED was retired a few years ago when a newer model was created."

Spike could be heard grumbling over the mic. "Stupid high-tech military explosives. No wonder I can't disarm it."

"You can't…but I can."

Confusion and shock filled the faces of the surrounding Team One members. Ed opened his mouth to ask a question, but before he could get it out, Sam stopped him. "Look, guys, I'll answer all of your questions later, right now we need to save Lewis. Spike, Lou, I'm heading your way."

Sam took off and met up with Spike and Lewis a few minutes later. Their facial expressions matched the rest of the team's expressions, but their eyes portrayed more. Lewis's eyes shone with fear and exhaustion and Spike's shone with frustration. As Sam approached then, he tried to push his own nerves and emotions aside. "Hey guys."

Lewis gave a short, quick nod, trying not to move too much. Spike studied Sam carefully as he knelt down to get a better look at the mine. After taking in the mine and confirming his suspicions, Sam grabs the gear that Spike had and started getting ready. "All right, Lou, I'm gonna get you out of here, OK? Spike I need you to go back to the team." Spike started to object, but Sam interrupted him. "Spike, I know you want to be here, but you know the rules; one person down range."

Spike stood up and looked at his best friend and his teammate, obviously conflicted. With a slight nod from Lou and a more confident, encouraging nod from Sam, Spike took a deep breath and started moving away. "I'll see you both back at the trucks."

Both Sam and Lou nodded at Spike and he turned and left. Lewis looked down at Sam, who was preparing all the needed equipment. "Sam, are you sure about this?"

Sam looked up at Lou and gave him the most confident smile he could muster. "I am 99.99% sure that we will BOTH walk away from this alive and with all of our limbs intact."

A small smile crossed Lou's lips before the anxiety took over again. Sam knew Lewis was struggling to remain calm, as was the rest of the team, so he got to work disarming the mine. Back at the trucks Spike joined the rest of Team One. They all anxiously waited for an update from their two teammates. Five minutes later, the sound of an explosion fills the mics and a cloud of smoke fills the air and the hearts of all of Team One sank. Tears filled their eyes as fear took over.

"SAM! LOU!" Spike called out, his voice thick with fear.

"Sam, Lewis, can you hear me?! What's your status?!" Greg practically pleaded into the mic, hoping and praying for a response. Seconds later, Sarge's prayers were answered when coughing was heard on the other end of the line.

"We're good, Sarge." Sam replied through his coughs.

"Both of you?!" Spike asked, silently pleading for both of his friends to be fine.

"Yeah Spike, we're both good." Lewis's voice, thick with relief, filled their mics.

Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief and tears of joy filled the eyes of Team One. Moments later, their two teammates could be seen emerging from the dissipating cloud of smoke. The remaining members of Team One ran to meet them and enveloped them both into hugs. With all members of Team One safe, everyone was able to truly breathe for the first time in since Lou stepped foot on the mine. After Sam and Lewis had been hugged by every single one of their teammates, Lewis pulled Sam into a strong hug. "Thank you, Sam."

Sam hugged him back. "Don't mention it. We're a team, we protect each other."

Everyone smiled and a few more hugs were exchanged. Once Spike finished hugging Sam and Lou for the fifth time, he looked at Sam with an inquisitive look. "So Samtastic, you know how to disarm mines?"

Ed smiled and looked at the sniper. "Yeah Sam, care to share with the rest of the class? Did you learn that in Special Forces training?"

Sam smiled. "I guess you could say that. There was a guy in my unit during my first tour that was pretty bomb-savvy. During our down time or late night guard duty, he'd teach me some stuff about mines and other IEDs and I would help him with his marksmanship."

"Please tell me this was not your first time actually disarming a mine hands-on..." Wordy shot Sam a questioning glance.

"Third time actually," Sam said with a smile that quickly turned to a grumpy grimace as he added "the first two were because some idiot decided to plant them around my sniper perch."

Team One smiled and laughed at Sam's grumpy comment. Greg squeezed Sam's shoulder. "You did good today, Sam, real good."

"Thanks Sarge."

"Uh Sam, you said this was retired military tech, right?" Jules asked, suddenly remembering Sam's comment about the mine from earlier. Sam nodded at her question. "Shouldn't we contact them and let them know that some of their tech was used in the city?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah, I should probably call the General and let him know... He's going to be pissed though."

"Because military tech, that I'm assuming was supposed to be under lock and key, is some how loose in the city?"

"Well, yeah. Situations like this usually mean someone's stealing military technology and selling it to insurgents or terrorists or punks with a lot of cash. That constitutes treason which means investigations and a whole lot of paper work for the General."

The members of Team One all gave understanding nods and Lou looked at his friend and savior. "What about you Sam? Are you going to be affected because of your involvement?"

Sam shrugged. "I'll most likely have to give some statements, talk to the CCA and fill out a lot of paper work, but nothing major." Sam smiled and gave his team a wink. "In fact, I might be able to get out of some of the paper work if I play my cards right."

Team One smiled, relived at the lighthearted conversation. Not even an hour ago, things had been so astronomically different and the fear of losing a teammate was all encompassing but now, the dynamic of Team One was stronger than ever. Leaving the scene, relief and joy were the dominant emotions for Team One; everyone was safe and the family was still together.

* * *

 **If you've read all of my stories, then this little piece will be familiar to you.**

 **I deleted it so it's no longer a single-standing one shot and reposted it here, with all my other one-shots.**

 **This probably isn't the update you all have been waiting for, but I'm literally hitting a wall in the creativity department. My focus now is mainly on Sam's Secret,  but I'm not abandoning this and I still want to update semi-regularly here. If you have any ideas or suggestions for one-shots you'd like to see, PLEASE let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally, a real (albeit short) update!  
Enjoy!**

 *** this piece does involve bits and pieces from the episode " _First in Line"_ but I'm sure you can figure out where it ends and my work begins. (: ***

* * *

 **The One with the Rookie**

"Ten rounds, ten targets, you don't get to miss." Jules said as she slid the ammo into the gun and handed it to Sam.

"I don't miss!" Sam replied with a cocky smile. It was true; he very rarely missed a shot.

"Uh-huh," Jules sounded back as she typed information into the computer. She was not amused by the rookie's attitude. "This week's mock-up is courtesy of Bob the Builder."

Sam looked at the computer screen over Jules' shoulder. "360 simulation?"

"Only the best for the proud men and women of the SRU," Jules announced. She walked over to the simulator door and unlocked it with her key.

Sam walked into the simulation room. "Live ammo right?"

"Always," Jules added. She tossed Sam the night-vision goggles and shut the door.

Greg walked in just as Jules started the simulation and instructed her to play nice.

The other members of Team One flooded in as Sam continued to blow the targets away, never missing a shot even when Jules turned the lights off. Sam just put the night-vision goggles on and continued to hit target after target.

When the simulation was over, and Sam had hit all the targets he was supposed to (and not the granny one they tried to trick him with), his face broke out into a smile and he let out an excited "Ha!"

The watching members of Team One rolled their eyes at the cocky rookie.

"Not bad," Spike said.

"He's an ex-Special Forces sniper," Ed said, a tad snarky. "I should hope he'd be able to hit a target right in front of his face if he can hit one hundreds of yards away."

"Eddie," Greg scolded slightly. No one, including himself, was happy about the fact that they didn't have a say in the ex-soldier joining their team but they still needed to be professional, especially as Team Leader and Sergeant.

Jules used her key again and opened the door, letting Sam back into the room. His smile lost some of it's spark when he entered the room and saw the unimpressed looks from the members of his team. _Alright guys. Cool._

Sam shrugged it off, squared his shoulders and looked towards Ed. "What's next?" Sam asked as he put the gun down on the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.

Everyone turned to look at Ed; the annoyed, disapproving look on his face was definitely not missed by any of them.

After a few moments of silence, all of which Ed spent scrutinizing Sam, Ed finally spoke. "Everyone outside."

...

Ed had Sam and the other members of Team One meet him by the shoot house out on the training field. Everyone was handed a paintball gun full of ammo and told to put a vest on.

Ed turned to face Sam. "Alright Braddock, you were able to hit fake, stationary targets; let's see how good you are at hitting real, moving targets."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Ed, wondering where he was going with this specific challenge.

Ed continued. "You get a thirty second head start to go inside and find a spot, then I'm sending Wordy, Spike, Jules and Lou in. THe mission is simple: you shoot them before they shoot you."

 _Four against one,_ Sam thought to himself. _So that's how it's going to be._

 _"_ Got it, Braddock?" Ed questioned sternly.

"Got it." Sam said smugly. "Bring it on."

 _Two could play at this game,_ Sam added in his mind.

"Go," Ed ordered, not liking the rookie's attitude. "Your thirty second head start starts now."

Sam nodded and headed into the shoot house. He found a perfect spot in the rafters on the second floor just as the others began to filter in.

Spike and Lou were the first two Sam took out. Though Sam had learned through his time in the military to never underestimate anyone, he did kind of expect the team's bomb tech and the perpetual "less lethal" constable would be the first two to be eliminated.

Climbing down from his spot in the rafters, and carefully checking his surroundings, Sam thought about his remaining two targets—Wordy and Jules.

Wordy was smart, experienced, a good shot, and definitely a formidable opponent but Jules, the sexy sniper chick, she was sneaky, skillful, and would definitely NOT hesitate to shoot him as soon as she saw him.

As Sam snuck around the shoot house, using walls and corners to his advantage, he was able to get the jump on Wordy and take him out.

 _Three down, one to go._

After what might've looked like a game of Cat and Mouse to anyone who was observing, Sam and Jules found themselves staring down the barrel of each other's guns. It was close, but Sam was able to get a shot off before Jules was.

 _Game over._

Jules let out a frustrated growl before turning away, without saying a word, and storming out of the house.

Sam waited a few moments before following her out. The looks he was met with outside varied between impressed and annoyed.

Sam, again, looked at Ed expectantly. "Anything else?"

Ed narrowed his eyes. "Obstacle course. Let's go."

...

Much like everything else Sam had been subjected to, he blew the obstacle course out of the water. He even set a new course record, shattering the previous one held by Ed, something that did NOT go over well with the already annoyed team leader.

Any other challenges or training exercises Ed wanted to put Sam through were cut short by the announcement of a hot call—Sam's first official hot call with Team One.

A desperate, devoted, widowed father had taken hostages at the hospital after the new heart his daughter was supposed to receive was given to another patient. There were several tense moments, but the call ended with everyone alive.

Despite how well Sam had done in all of the training exercises that morning, he was still put on coffee duty. Sure, he had wanted to just solve all their problems with the squeeze of a trigger, but that was literally all he had ever known. He was raised to be a soldier, a shoot first, ask questions later military man. Sam didn't know anything about negotiations and no one on the team had gotten around to working with him on it.

Sending the heart up while the hospital was on lockdown and a gunman was at large was a mistake, a big mistake. Sam realized it almost immediately after he made it. He was remorseful of course, and everything worked out in the end, but the members of Team One didn't really care—to them, the rookie had screwed up big time.

Sam had mad skills, it was undeniable, but that one mistake did nothing but solidify Team One's belief that Sam did not belong on their team.

Little did they know how great of a constable, teammate and friend Sam would prove to be in time.

* * *

 **I hope yall enjoyed!**

 **Next update for SAMTASTIC will be after the next _Sam's Secret_ update! I'm hoping it will be longer than this one.  
Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is a special little Christmas-themed, feel good type of piece.**

 **It's somewhat inspired by a few of my other stories where Sam has to go back overseas with JTF2 AND partly by the SRU Christmas party scene in** **missblueeyes63's Twelve Days of Christmas-SRU Style story.**

 **I hope you all enjoy and Merry Christmas!**

* * *

 **The One with the Christmas Surprise**

It was a beautiful night.

Everyone was dressed in their holiday best and scattered around the hotel ballroom. It was the night of the annual SRU Christmas party and members from all five teams and their families were there. Anyone that had anything to do with the SRU was there. We'll, all except for one person: Sam.

The General had shown up in the middle of shift with a Call to Action request, signed and sealed by the CCA himself. Sam was going back to Kandahar.

It was supposed to be a temporary assignment—go in, extract the target and get out.

That was six months ago and Team One was more frustrated than ever. They all missed Sam a lot, especially Spike and Jules.

It had been just over a year since Lou died and Sam and Spike had quickly become best friends. Sam's experience with loss had really helped Spike get through the hard times in the months following that fateful day.

The connection between Canada and Kandahar was spotty at best. Sam tried to contact Team One whenever he could and let them all know that he was OK but super-secret Special Forces stuff (and bad Internet connection) always got in the way. Often times, weeks went by without any contact at all from Sam. However, Sam had cashed in some favors from the higher ups and was able to video chat with Spike on the one year anniversary of Lou's death. To say that meant the world to Spike would not do the action enough justice.

For Jules, Sam being sent back to Kandahar was like a slap in the face. After months and months of ignoring their feelings for each other and then FINALLY giving in and hiding their relationship from their team, they were given the OK to be together. Not even a full two weeks later, General Braddock showed up and changed everything.

She hated the man; she really, truly hated him and everything he continually put Sam through. Jules wanted the General to stay out of their lives and Jules wanted Sam back. This would have been their first Christmas as an official couple and he was on the other side of the world.

Spike and Jules weren't the only ones affected by Sam's absence; all of Team One (heck, all of SRU) missed Sam.

Wordy missed Sam because the man had become a brother to him and an uncle to his girls. He hated having to tell them, especially Allie, that he didn't know when 'Uncle Sam' would be back.

Ed missed the man that had become his right-hand man. Their relationship was extremely rough at the beginning, but Ed eventually saw Sam for who he really was, and everything he could bring to the team. They still had an interesting relationship, but they worked well together. Team One was not Team One without Sam. Plus, Ed _really_ hated adjusting to rookies.

Greg missed the man he thought of as a son. He had read Sam's file and spoke with Commander Holleran. He knew Sam didn't have the best upbringing but Greg was so incredibly proud of the man Sam had become. He saw everything that Sam brought to the team and he knew the different things Sam did on a personal level for each member of his team, himself included. Sam was greatly missed and he could not wait to get him back.

Despite the missing team member, and the multitude of feelings that were conjured up because of said missing team member, the Christmas party was an enjoyable time for everyone. There was lots of food, an open bar and even a dance floor and music for those in the dancing mood (or those who had more than their fair share of alcohol).

About an hour and a half into the party, Spike had stepped out for some fresh air. Checking his phone, he saw that he had an email from an unknown, encrypted email address. When he opened it, Spike saw that there was a video included in the message.

Spike clicked on the video, to download it to his phone, and Sam's face popped up on the screen. A bright smile came across his face and he ran back into the ballroom.

The members of Team One and their spouses were all together and standing by one of the tables. At first, they were instantly on alert when Spike came running into the room, but the smile on his face calmed them down.

"Spike, what's going on?" Ed asked the bomb tech.

"I got a video message from Sam!"

Surprise and excitement covered their faces.

"What did the video say?" Jules asked.

"I don't know; I haven't watched it yet." Spike confessed with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I kinda wanted everyone to watch it."

Everyone smiled, showing their gratitude for Spike's decision.

"OK, Spike you get your phone hooked up to the projector. I'll talk to Holleran and make the announcement." Greg ordered. "Ed, Wordy, Jules, you guys clear the dance floor and talk to the band."

Four "copies" rang out and everyone went to handle their different tasks.

...

Fifteen minutes later, the ballroom was darkened and everyone was surrounding the projector screen. Spike connected his phone and pulled up the email.

"What kind of phone upgrade do you have to have to receive encrypted emails?" Scott from Team Five called out, causing everyone to chuckle.

"I'll tell you later!" Spike said with a smile.

Spike pressed play on the video and Sam's face popped up on the projection screen. After a quick buffer, the video started playing.

Sam's voice filled the ballroom.

 _"Hey guys! I know it's not quite Christmas in Toronto yet, but it is officially Christmas Eve in Kandahar so merry Christmas! I hope you guys have snow there, because I definitely won't be getting a white Christmas over here. "_

 _"I miss you guys and I can't wait to be back home."_

 _"I don't know when you guys are going to see this, but I'm hoping it's at the SRU Christmas Party…if it's not, then my Christmas present surprise will DEFINITELY be a surprise."_

Everyone in the ballroom looked around at each other, confused. No one, not even Spike or Jules, knew what 'surprise Christmas present' Sam was talking about.

In all the hype with Sam's video and the confusion that came with it, no one saw the door to the ballroom open.

 _"I know you're probably confused and wondering what the hell I'm talking about but just go with it."_

 _"Now, this little surprise is not just from me. In order to make something like this all come together, it was a bit of a group effort; my unit and some of my superiors pitched in and helped so I hope you all enjoy."_

 _"In fact, I think it just arrived."_ Sam smiled on the video. _"Turn around."_

Confused, everyone in the ballroom turned around. They all stopped dead in their tracks.

"Sam?" Jules asked in disbelief.

There, standing just a few feet away, was Sam. He had his Army duffle thrown over his shoulder and still wearing his fatigues. At everyone's shocked expression, Sam smiled. "Surprise!"

The room was so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was so shocked to see Sam they didn't know what to do.

The shocked silence was broken by Spike.

"YES!" Spike exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Samtastic in the house!"

Spike rushed forward and immediately hugged Sam. Jules quickly followed Spike's lead.

Hugging Sam and physically having him in her arms again made Jules' heart soar. It was so much better in real life than in her dreams.

As much as she wanted to hug Sam forever, she could hear the other members of Team One coming up behind her and knew they'd want to hug Sam too. With a sigh and one final squeeze, Jules let Sam go and moved aside to make room for her teammates.

...

The next several minutes were a whirlwind for Sam. He had never hugged so many people in his entire life, but he was genuinely thankful that his teammates and other coworkers at the SRU were so happy to see him. He had missed them.

Thirty minutes after his surprise arrival, Sam found himself sitting at a table, surrounded by his teammates.

Once the initial shock wore off, they all had questions.

"How did you arrange that video?" Wordy asked. "Spike said it came through an encrypted email system and I don't think your phone has that kind of feature…"

Sam smirked. "You're right, it doesn't. When I got the green light to come home, I knew I'd be coming home this day so I wanted to do something better than just walk through the door. A couple guys in my unit came up with the idea and helped me put it all together."

"When I went to my CO to sign my papers, I cashed in a favor he owed me and he promised to send it over."

The team smiled at Sam's plan.

"How long are you back for?" Ed asked.

Everyone looked at Sam, preparing themselves for what the answer might be.

"Oh, I don't know." Sam said. His face was emotionless at first but then a smile came across his face. "How about….permanently?"

For the second time that night, Team One was shocked into silence.

Spike was the first to recover. "Permanently?!"

Sam nodded, smiled, and took one of Jules' hands in his. "Yep. My discharge papers are signed and are being fast-tracked through to the CCA. I spoke to him a few weeks ago and, after he said some colorful words about my father, he willingly granted me a full, honorable discharge. I am no longer a part of the Canadian military."

"You're home for good?" Jules asked for confirmation. It was almost too good to be true.

Sam smiled. "I'm home for good."

Thankful, relieved smiles covered the faces of everyone at the table.

This would be a Christmas party none of them forgot—Sam was back, for good, and Team One was together again. _Their family_ was together again.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas everyone and happy holidays!**


	8. Chapter 8

**The One with the Fireworks**

 ***Part of the Maddie-verse***

The members of Team One sat around the table in the briefing room counting down the minutes until their shift was over. Despite it being Canada Day, their shift was surprisingly uneventful. Holidays usually brought all of the crazies out but Team One lucked out with only a few hot calls. No one was willing to speak about their good fortune however, not wanting to manifest any nation-wide disaster or city-wide attack.

The debrief from their last call had been quick and easy and the team spent the last of the shift discussing their plans for the night. All of them would be attending the Canada Day celebration in the park with their families and friends, enjoying the food, games and fireworks. All of them except for Sam.

Sam had been out of the military and out of the combat zone for a while now, and although he adjusted to post-war life relatively quickly (his daughter was dependent on it), he knew his limits and he knew his triggers. Fireworks were one of those triggers—something that could _very_ easily send him to a bad place. He tended to avoid them but this would be Maddie's first time experiencing fireworks and since she'd been hearing about them all week at daycare, she was so excited for them.

Never being one to disappoint his daughter, Sam had immediately began formulating a plan that ensured Maddie's firework-viewing pleasure. He'd pick her up from daycare after work, feed her, bathe her and drop her off at the Wordsworth house a quarter to seven. Wordy had been completely understanding about Sam's predicament and he and Shelley were more than willing to take Maddie with them to the Canada Day celebration.

Maddie had been disappointed when she first found out that her daddy wouldn't be going to the "fiyaworks" with her, but the prospect of getting to spend time with Wordy's daughters seemed to make it all better.

Sam hoped that one day he'd be able to watch the fireworks with Maddie, but if that day never comes, he hoped Maddie would at least one day understand.

As the clock struck 5:00pm and their shift was over, them members of Team One exited the briefing room and headed towards the locker rooms. Leaving the room, Sam walked over to Wordy. "Thanks again, for taking Maddie tonight Wordy. I really appreciate it."

Wordy gave Sam an understanding smile. "Don't worry about it Sam; Maddie's going to have a blast tonight. I just wish you were able to come too."

"Me too."

Spike, who had been walking several feet ahead of them, somehow heard the tail end of their conversation and stopped in his tracks, whirling around to face them. "Sam, you're not coming to the Canada Day celebration tonight?!"

Sam sighed, his predicament now the center of attention. "Uh, no, I'm not. Maddie's going to go with Wordy and his family and I'm gonna stay home."

"Why?" Lou asked. He saw the look on Sam's face when Spike had asked his question and knew that Sam probably didn't want to talk about it, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

"Me and fireworks aren't the best combination."

Understanding dawned on the face of all the members of Team One and their hearts went out to the former soldier. War had changed his life in so many ways.

"You were home for Canada Day last year right?" Jules asked. At Sam's nod, she continued. "What did you do then?"

"I was still living on base at that point and the General didn't allow fireworks that year; a large majority of the soldiers on base had just returned from active duty a few days before and were still decompressing. The General's made a lot of decisions I've disagreed with over the years, but that's one of the decisions I'll probably be eternally thankful for."

The members of Team One nodded, thankful for General Braddock's decision as well.

"Does Maddie know that you're not going?" Ed asked.

Sam nodded. "She doesn't understand why though, and to be completely honest I haven't tried to explain it to her yet. She was disappointed, especially since she'd been learning about fireworks and Canada Day all week at daycare, but getting to go with Wordy and his family made things a little better."

Spike walked over and clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Well, I'm sorry you have to miss out on the fireworks and the AMAZING hot dogs the annual Canada Day celebration brings, but I'm glad Maddie gets to see them."

Sam smiled and the group started making their way to the locker room again. "Me too Spike, me too."

"I'll make sure she eats enough hot dogs and cotton candy for the both of you!"

Sam groaned and the team laughed.

As the guys entered their locker room, Sam's request of "please don't" was the last thing heard as the door swung shut.

* * *

 **I know this is late for Canada Day, but it's still the Fourth of July as I post this so it kinda works out, right?**

 **Sorry it was so short! I hope you guys enjoyed nonetheless!**

 **If you have any prompts or chapter suggestions for SAMTASTIC or Sam's Secret let me know!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Inspired by the nonstop rain and thunderstorms hitting my neck of the woods today.**

 **This one takes place early in the series.**

* * *

 **The One Where JTF2 Comes to Visit**

It was a rainy day in Toronto, a VERY rainy day. Thunderstorms and torrential rain had plagued the city since nightfall the previous day and, according to the weatherman on every Toronto news station, there was no end in sight. Typically, this type of weather did not bode well for the SRU; extreme weather of any kind usually brought out the crazies. However, this day was different. No one, even the crazies and the criminals, seemed to want to be out in the seemingly never-ending rain.

Team One spent the first half of their shift out on patrol just waiting for a hot call but none came. Their return to the Barn was perfectly timed, a break in the clouds and a light sprinkle momentarily replacing the pounding downpour.

As they rushed inside to escape the rain that was sure to start pouring again at any time, Sam stopped dead in his tracks, the cars parked outside the entrance to the SRU catching his eye. Unmarked black SUVs with tinted windows lined the curb outside of the main entrance and, in front of the lead car, were two motor bikes donned with Canadian Army flags and the insignia of Special Forces.

 _Shit._

Sam's stop was so sudden and abrupt that his teammates behind him didn't anticipate it and two of them ran smack into his back. Sam, in his shocked stupor, felt nothing but his teammates weren't so lucky.

"Yo, Sam, what the hell?" Lou, barely able to keep his footing, exclaimed.

Spike took the brunt of the collision and, unable to keep his feet on the ground, was now on the ground outside of SRU Headquarters, a dazed (and embarrassed) look on his face.

Greg, Ed, Wordy and Jules all stopped and turned at Lou's exclamation. They immediately headed towards the trio. When they got there, Wordy extended a hand and helped Spike up. "You OK, Spike?"

Spike nodded. "It was like walking straight into a brick wall. I mean it; he's like solid muscle!"

Returning to his feet, Spike turned his attention to his (still silent) teammate. "Seriously Samtastic, ONE ounce of body fat wouldn't kill you."

The others chuckled but those smiles soon turned to frowns when they realized Sam was still, seemingly, staring off into space.

They followed his line of sight to the cavalcade in front of the building. They all looked at the impressive motorbikes and vehicles in front of them and no one could understand why Sam was essentially catatonic. That was until they saw the military flags and Special Forces insignias. Then everything clicked.

"Sam?" Wordy asked, coming around to stand in front of the stunned former soldier.

When Wordy received no answer, Greg tried. "Sam? You with us?"

Nothing.

Finally, Ed came to stand right in front of Sam. "BRADDOCK!"

The loud, sharp boom of Ed's voice finally snapped Sam out of his stupor.

Seeing Sam come back to his senses, Ed nodded his head to the military cavalcade behind him. "What do you know about this?"

"Nothing sir," Sam said, his eyes finally leaving the SUVs and bikes to focus on his team leader. "I have no idea why the military would be here." _But I intend to find out._ He thought to himself.

Before anyone could say anything there was a loud clap of thunder that sent Team One hurrying inside, away from the impending downpour.

As they walked through the building, they stopped at Winnie's desk and stared at the sight in front of them. Twelve fatigue-clad soldiers were standing at attention while a tall, grey-haired Army officer spoke with Commander Holleran.

When the two men noticed the team had arrived, Holleran excused himself and went to his men (and woman).

Once Holleran got over to them, Ed didn't even give him a chance to speak. "Sir, may I ask why Special Forces is here?"

"The newest group of JTF2 recruits were on their way to Petawawa for their second half of training but the weather has interrupted their travel plans. I've agreed to let them utilize our facility for a little bit of training while they wait for the weather to clear up." Commander Holleran filled them in.

If he noticed the uncomfortable look on Sam's face he didn't comment on it.

"Besides," Holleran continued. "Maybe there's something in their training routine that we can utilize for the SRU."

As Holleran finished talking, the older military officer approached.

Sam visibly tensed.

"This must be Team One. I've heard a lot about you all; it's nice to put faces to names, so to speak." The officer spoke, his tone the slightest bit condescending.

When his eyes landed on Sam, his tone went cold. "Sam."

"General." Sam said, keeping his voice even though inside, he was raging.

"Sam, the General has requested that you help the recruits with their training today and I've agreed…at least until we get a call."

Sam grit his teeth, sighed and stepped forward, going to stand before the group of recruits. The General stepped forward to stand next to him.

"Men," he started. "This is Master Corporal Samuel Braddock. He's former JTF2, served two tours during the height of the war. His experience overseas influenced much of what you will be trained in from here on out. He'll be helping train you today."

The members of Team One were watching their rookie and they saw the way his eyes clouded over and his fists clenched slightly at the General's words, no doubt bringing unpleasant memories to the forefront of Sam's mind. The team didn't know much about Sam's time with Special Forces; it wasn't something he talked about freely and what they did know about (Matt's death) kept them from asking more questions. They, especially Ed and Greg, had suspected more had happened over there, but no one was willing to put Sam through the emotional sucker punch of reliving those memories.

"He was one of the best we had and he was on the fast track to Sergeant or even Lieutenant or higher but he let one mistake ruin a promising career and he left the army to work for the police force." The General turned his attention from the recruits in front of him to the man standing next to him. "I trust you won't teach them to do the same?"

Sam glared at the General and if looks could kill, the General would have been dead ten times over.

After a few more moments of staring daggers at the General, Sam turned back to the recruits. "Do you all have workout clothes?" Seeing them nod, he continued. "Go change. Meet me on the mats in the gym. You have ten minutes—locker room is down the hall to the right."

Sam's voice was even but firm and the recruits gave him a unanimous "yes sir" before picking up the bags at their feet and heading in the direction of the locker room.

When they were gone, Sam turned on the General, the anger in his voice barely contained. "May I speak with you in the conference room, _sir_."

The General gave him an amused smirk but headed into the conference room anyways. Sam followed behind and slammed the door, shutting the shutters on the windows as well.

The members of Team One stood looking at the conference room doors, shocked by what they had just witnessed.

Greg turned to Holleran and opened his mouth to ask a question but Holleran put a hand up, stopping him from speaking. "I will handle the two hotheads in the conference room. You all go suit up; I want you helping Sam with training."

With that, Commander Holleran left Team One behind and entered the conference room. When the door opened, Team One could hear Sam and the General in a very heated discussion.

As the door closed again, Greg sighed and looked at his team. "Let's go suit up. We can talk to Sam later."

Begrudgingly, Team One followed their Sergeant's orders.

The men of Team One were surprisingly quiet as they entered their locker room. The JTF2 recruits were still changing and were deep into their own conversation, completely oblivious to the new arrivals in the room.

 _I guess super-soldier hearing and awareness is taught in the second half of training._ Spike thought.

Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Lou started changing into their workout gear. They tried not to listen in to the recruits' conversation but something caught their attention.

" _We're being trained by Sam Braddock…THE Sam Braddock. He's like the golden boy of Special Forces_."

 _"What's so special about him? Other than being the General's son?"_

Spike and Lou looked wide-eyed at each other then to the older members of Team One.

"General's son?" Spike mouthed.

Ed just shrugged his shoulders and continued listening.

 _"He has the highest kill count out of any Special Forces sniper AND the longest shot recorded."_

 _"I heard his old unit used to call him Bullseye because he never missed."_

 _"I heard he was called 'The Reaper'…you know, like the Grim Reaper?"_

 _"What do you think the General was talking about when he said 'Sam let one mistake ruin his career'?"_

 _"My uncle is on the General's staff. He told me Sam shot and killed his best friend on a mission and he couldn't handle the guilt so he left."_

The men of Team One all found their fists clenching.

 _"Your uncle is wrong. My step-brother was in Sam's unit during his second tour. Yes, Sam ACCIDENTLY shot and killed his best friend on a mission, but the commander of their unit was later court martialed because of that mission and found guilty for falsifying headcount/check in information before Sam was ordered to fire….information that proved they were one man short. Their Sergeant tried to hide his faults and let Sam take all the blame. It took Sam almost killing himself for the Sergeant to admit it. There was a new commander the next day and the unit was broken up."_

The recruits were quiet after that and so were the men of Team One, though they were quiet for a much different reason. They were furious.

They all knew how guilty Sam felt about Matt's death and how much he beat himself up about it and now knowing that it possibly could've been prevented made them angry.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door to the locker room swung open angrily and Sam stalked into the room looking ready to pummel someone. He opened his locker and immediately began changing.

"You have three minutes to be dressed and out on those mats." He shouted to the recruits. "I suggest you not be late."

The recruits quickly filed out of the locker room, leaving just the men of Team One behind.

They watched Sam's actions, his movements spastic and angry, but waited until he slammed his locker door shut to say something.

"You alright, Sam?" Wordy asked, concerned for the rookie.

Sam let out a breath. "Yeah, I'm good. That's usually how all of my encounters with the General go… we've never been on the best of terms or seen eye to eye."

"The General? Or your father?" Ed asked, gently letting Sam know they knew the identity of the other man.

Sam looked at his teammates out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "He's the General, first and foremost." He answered, quiet and somber. "He always has been."

Sam left the locker room after that, passing by Jules without a word and heading straight for the mats in the gym where the recruits were waiting.

Jules stared at his back as he walked away then raised an eyebrow at the rest of her teammates who had followed him out of the locker room. "What was that about?"

"We'll fill you in later." Greg said.

He kept walking towards Sam and the recruits, leaving his team to share a look with one another before following after him. As much as they wanted to be there for Sam, the members of Team One were also looking forward to seeing more of Sam's dormant Special Forces skills come back out.

...

Sam led the recruits through a grueling hand-to-hand and close combat session that left most of them out of breath and bruised. They were sure to be black and blue when they made it to Petawawa.

Target practice on the range was next, followed by endurance training via a five mile run in torrential rain.

...

By the end of Team One's shift the JTF2 recruits were wet, tired and bruised, Sam was much calmer than when they started, Jules had been filled in on what the recruits said and Team One was proud of their rookie; Sam had obviously had a rough past, especially where Special Forces and his father were concerned, but he was using what he learned from those experiences to grow and help benefit others.

* * *

 **Not the biggest fan of how this ended, but I hope you guys enjoyed anyways.**

 **I took some liberty with the Matt situation. Hope that's OK. Ever since I watched that episode something about Sam being cleared to fire when one of his unit members was down where he was supposed to be shooting didn't sit right with me.**

 **I know you guys have been asking and waiting for a Sam's Secret update and one is coming, but I wanted to update this one before the year ended since it hadn't been updated since July.**

 **If you have any prompts or suggestions you'd like to see here, let me know.**

 **Be on the lookout for the next Sam's Secret update, though it'll probably be after the new year.**


	10. Chapter 10

***Deleted and re-uploaded due to some people not being able to see it.***

 **Not part of the Maddie-verse.**

* * *

 **The One at the End of Watch**

It was a cold and dreary day in Toronto and the weather outside was the perfect embodiment of the feelings and emotions of the mourners gathered inside the hall.

Friends, family members, and teammates both current and past stood around sharing stories and antidotes of the good friend they'd all lost. A few of the men and women tried to keep a smile on their face but most were wearing expressions of sadness and dabbing their eyes with wads of tissues or wiping away tears with their fingers.

There were a few who stood away from the crowd, at the front of the hall, staring silently and sullenly at the flag-draped casket and photo of their fallen friend and loved one. Some where remembering, with absolute clarity, the day they got the news no one ever wanted to receive. Some were seeing their friend and teammate's final moments play out in slow motion in memories that plagued their every waking (and sleeping) moment and some were still reeling with guilt from the events that led them to this very moment.

A song played from the sound system overhead, alerting everyone to the start of the service.

Family members, friends and former co-workers, or at least those who could make it in, of the fallen officer took up the seats on the right side of the hall. Team One and their families sat in the first row, the other SRU teams and staff members filed in the rows behind them on the other side of the hall.

Losing one of their own always hit hard, but losing one who sacrificed themselves and their life to save their teammates seemed to hit harder than anything else.

Commander Holleran stepped up to the podium and gave the first of many eulogies that day.

Family members, friends and teammates spoke after him and throughout all of the eulogies, there were several reoccurring words used to describe their fallen friend.

Caring and compassionate.

Dedicated.

Fiercely loyal.

Cunning and intelligent.

Strong by every definition.

Tough.

Stubborn.

Wise.

Highly skilled.

Hard working.

Selfless.

Fearless.

Brave.

After the eulogies were finished, and tears were freely flowing down faces and pooling in eyes, a few more songs played over the sound system as the Canadian flag covering the casket was neatly folded and presented to the family.

Once the flag was presented to the family, the mourners were given one last chance to visit the casket before it was loaded into the hearse for the journey to the cemetery.

As family members, friends and mourners made their way outside to their cars, a 21-gun salute rang out in the silence around them.

A police escort led the hearse, the family car and the caravan of other cars to the cemetery; the streets they drove down lined with citizens paying their respects to the fallen officer.

As the funeral procession drove down the streets of Toronto, one last, somber, final call went out of every police, SRU, Guns and Gangs, fire department and first responder radio.

 _"8302, 8302, 8302. This is a final call for Constable Samuel Braddock, badge number 8302. Constable Braddock was fatally shot on Dec. 31 while answering and going above and beyond a call for duty. He gave of himself while serving Toronto's Police Strategic Response Unit with courage and valor. The men and women of the SRU are forever grateful and proud to have served with Constable Braddock. We will never forget his ultimate sacrifice._

 _"Constable Samuel Braddock, may you rest in peace knowing your strength, legacy and honor will live in and continue with all of us._

 _8302, you are clear for end of watch._

 _Thank you for your service and rest easy, sir, knowing we have the watch from here."_

* * *

 **A short but sad piece inspired the** _ **heart wrenching**_ **video of Deputy Zackari Parrish's funeral on Facebook. Deputy Parrish was shot and killed in the line of duty in Colorado on New Years Eve(I found the transcript of his 'final call' and tweaked it a bit to fit the story). In August 2017, I lost a friend, a police detective, in the line of duty as well.**

 **I hope this piece does not offend anyone, I wrote it as a way to honor Zach, my friend, and every other officer that has been killed in the line of duty.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I loved writing this one. I hope you guys like it too! (P.S. it only took a few hours! #inspired)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The One with the Hospital Visit**

As he stepped into the elevator hand-in-hand with Maddie, Spike thought back to the many times he (and the other members of Team One) had made this almost exact same trip. A lot had changed over the past few years. Unfortunately, the members of Team One's frequent hospital visits had not. He couldn't really complain about this one though.

From a very young age, Maddie had known about the (sometimes harsh) realities of life and as she grew up and grew older, she'd developed an understanding of the ins and outs of her dad's job and the consequences of having an SRU officer as a father. Her honorary aunts and uncles always made sure any hospital visit she had to make were as calm and stress free for her as possible, despite whatever was going on. Maddie was glad they didn't have to pretend this time.

As the pair stepped off the elevator on the appropriate floor, Spike led them to the desk to get their visitor's passes. Passes ready, the receptionist buzzed them through the secure door.

Despite it being mid-day, the halls were surprisingly quiet, though there were still some nurses and visiting friends and family members bustling about.

As they walked past the nurses' station, a short, soft melody chimed from the speakers overhead and the nurses smiled softly. The short song brought a smile to Spike's face as well as he remembered the first time he heard it yesterday. He knew what the music meant, and he had told Maddie what it meant in case she heard it while they were at the hospital.

Spike was pleased to see a small smile on her face as well. After all, the meaning behind the music was the exact reason they were visiting.

The closer they got to the room at the end of the hall, the tighter Maddie clutched the stuffed animal in her free hand. It was a small pink dinosaur, similar to the one she received for her birthday years ago. She'd saved her tooth fairy money to buy it and had been waiting for months for the day she'd be able to give it as a gift.

Maddie was excited. How could she not be?! This is something she'd wanted for a long time but now that the moment had finally arrived, she was nervous. Her dad, Jules, her aunts, uncles and cousins had spent the last several months talking with her and preparing her for this and she was incredibly confident (no doubt, a dominant trait with Braddock DNA) that she knew what to do, but her nerves were mixing with her excitement and everything at the moment was super overwhelming for her almost 7-year-old self.

With the correct room door in front of them, Spike looked down at Maddie. "Ready Mads?"

Maddie took a deep breath, looked up at Spike and nodded.

Spike smiled and knocked quietly on the door.

A quiet "come in" gave them all the permission they needed and Spike opened the door and led Maddie in.

The room is pretty quiet, sans the TV playing on the wall. Jules was sitting cross-legged on the bed, picking at the remaining food left on the tray in front of her and Sam was seated on the couch. Someone else was there as well, the very special someone that Maddie had been waiting to see.

Spike let go of Maddie's hand and went over to the bed to hug Jules. Maddie stood silently in the middle of the room.

"Maddie?" Sam started after noticing she hadn't moved or said anything. "Come here, munchkin. It's OK."

Hearing her dad call her by her old nickname calmed her nerves a bit and Maddie slowly walked over to where he was on the couch.

Sam patted the cushion beside him with his free hand and Maddie climbed up, sitting the mini pink dinosaur beside her.

Sam gave her a comforting smile then stood up and moved to where he was standing right in front of her. Still smiling, he asked a very important question. "You ready?"

Maddie looked up at him and gave him a nod.

Sam leaned forward and placed a very special bundle in Maddie's waiting arms before sitting back down beside her and adding a little extra support.

Maddie's entire focus was transfixed on the tiny bundle in her arms. If she noticed Spike and Jules taking pictures of her, she gave no indication. It wasn't until Sam said the seven words she'd been waiting months to hear that everything became real.

"Maddie, say hello to your little sister."

Sister.

She had a _sister!_

Maddie smiled and looked up, first at Jules then at Sam. "Sadie?"

"Sadie." Sam confirmed with a nod.

Maddie looked back down at her little sister sleeping peacefully in her arms and gently bounced her.

After sharing a smile with Jules and Spike, Sam brought his attention back to two of the most important people in his life: his daughters.

* * *

 **You guys have asked for one that doesn't make you cry or leave you an emotional mess so here you go. The only emotional mess this creates should be a happy one. *she said hopefully***

 **Also, a nice little gift for my JAM lovers. You're welcome.**


	12. Chapter 12

**The One With the Movie Marathon**

Sam was halfway through changing into his workout clothes when Spike and Lou entered the locker room, deeply engaged in conversation. Wordy followed behind them, smirking and shaking his head.

"Good morning gentlemen," Ed said from in front of his locker.

"Oh, it's a very good morning indeed!" Spike said cheerfully as he dropped his bag on the bench and opened his locker. "It's our last shift for three days and the annual ' _May the Fourth Be with You Star Wars'_ movie marathon starts on Friday!"

Ed and Greg shared a look and chuckled.

"Spike, it's the same thing every year." Wordy said with a laugh.

Slipping his workout shirt on over his head, Spike let out an exasperated breath. "I know Wordy, but the Star Wars saga is a cinematic masterpiece."

The others laughed, but Sam just shut his locker door and looked at his teammates, confused.

"What does May 4th have to do with Star Wars?"

At Sam's question the laughter stopped immediately. The others turned to look at Sam incredulously, but Spike whirled around faster than Sam had ever seen the bomb tech move.

"Seriously?!" Spike asked, his voice raising an octave. "May 4th... 'May the force be with you'?"

Sam just shook his head, still confused.

"Come on Sam, they say it in every movie!"

Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"Sam, haven't you ever _watched_ Star Wars before?" Lou asked as he finished changing.

At Sam's silence, Spike's shock and disbelief cranked up a few notches. "YOU'VE NEVER SEEN STAR WARS?!"

"No?" Sam answered.

Spike gasped, put a hand on his chest and pretended to faint, falling back into the unexpecting arms of Lou.

Lou scrambled to catch Spike as Ed, Greg and Wordy laughed.

"You've seriously never seen Star Wars?" Spike asked as he stood up. "Not even one of them?"

"Nope. I grew up on a military base in the desert with a General who didn't believe in down time as a father. When I was allowed to watch movies, they were usually somewhat historically accurate war movies that *could* possibly help me in the future." Sam said, shrugging again. "I went straight into the military after high school then did back-to-back tours and assignments. I didn't really have time for pop culture."

The others nodded in understanding but frowned at the childhood (or lack thereof) that Sam had described. Spike however, looked offended.

"Well that's unacceptable!" Spike said as he closed his locker door. "You're coming over on Friday and we're going to watch all the Star Wars movies. From Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi. By the time we're done, you'll know more about Star Wars than George Lucas himself!"

"Who?" Sam asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh God!" Spike ran his fingers through his hair and walked out of the locker room.

Lou, Wordy, Ed and Greg followed after him, laughing and smiling, leaving a still confused Sam to bring up the rear.

...

Six movies, two pizzas and several beers later, Spike turned off the end credits for _Return of the Jedi,_ flipped the lights back on and turned to face Sam expectantly. "Well?"

Sam took one last sip of his beer and looked at Spike. "Not bad."

Spike's face fell. " _Not bad_? That's it? Just 'not bad'?"

"I mean, I still don't get why episodes 4, 5, and 6 were made decades before episodes 1, 2, and 3 but overall, they're not bad movies."

"Ugh, I give up!" Spike exclaimed, falling back against the couch cushions.

Sam chuckled. "Now I have a Star Wars related question for you now."

Spike looked at him, intrigued. "Go on…"

"If the Star Wars characters were members of our team, who would be whom?"

Spike laughed. "Sarge is definitely Yoda, no question. And Jules is Leia, obviously."

Sam smiled. "Ed's got a bit of a Han Solo feel to him and Wordy is definitely Obi-Wan."

"Oh yeah," Spike nodded in agreement. "Who would you be? Luke Skywalker?"

"Well, I _can_ fly a plane."

"You can?!" Spike asked, shocked.

"I mean, I'm not the best pilot in the world but I could keep one from crashing into the ground."

"Huh," Spike said with a short laugh. "Maybe you are Luke Skywalker. What about me and Lou? Who would we be?"

Sam pretended to think about it for a few moments before he looked at Spike with smile. "R2D2 and C3PO?"

Spike's jaw dropped and Sam lost it.

* * *

 **I know I should have posted a Sam's Secret update first (don't worry, it's coming) but, well, today is May 4th and inspiration for this little one piece hit me like that perfectly placed shot that blue up the Death Star (;**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Be on the lookout for the next Sam's Secret update and... May the 4th be with you!**


End file.
